Mark Cuban Says These 5 Money Rules Are Outdated (And What To Do Instead)

Mark Cuban is no stranger to a strong opinion, even when it means questioning conventional financial wisdom. Across interviews in print and podcasts, the billionaire entrepreneur has taken stances against carrying a balance on your credit cards, investing before paying off debt, and spending heavily on a college degree.

Cuban has also pushed back on the idea that people should blindly trust investment brokers or only prioritize saving cash for their retirement nest egg.

While some of Cuban's advice doesn't align with mainstream financial guidance, sometimes he's in step with conventional wisdom. Regardless, his approach has worked well enough for him to build real wealth. Here are some of the common money rules he's questioned over the years and what he recommends instead.

Carrying a credit card balance helps your credit

One common money myth that Cuban rejects outright involves carrying a credit card balance to help boost your credit. Even as far back as 2008, he took to Blog Maverick with some strong words: "Cut up your credit cards. If you use a credit card, you don't want to be rich," he wrote. "The first step to getting rich requires discipline."

Time hasn't softened his stance. In a 2014 interview, Cuban said the money he saved on interest by not having debt was better than any return he could've gotten by investing in the stock market.

His reasoning is straightforward: Credit card interest is a guaranteed expense. Paying off a balance charging 20% interest effectively locks in a 20% savings, while an investment return is never guaranteed.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains that consumers who pay their credit card balance in full by the due date generally avoid interest on purchases when their card offers a grace period.

The practical takeaway is simple: Use a credit card for convenience or rewards if it fits your budget, but don't confuse carrying a balance with building credit. Paying the statement balance in full is the safer default.

Invest extra money before paying off debt

To invest or pay down debt first? Okay, it's not exactly Hamlet's immortal question of "to be or not to be?" but it's still something many people ask themselves. Cuban has a clear answer: Treat debt repayment as an investment with a guaranteed return.

In a conversation with MarketWatch, he said, "If you have a student loan with a 7% interest rate, if you pay off that loan, you're making 7%, that's your immediate return, which is a lot safer than picking a stock or trying to pick real estate or whatever it may be."

His logic is especially compelling with high-interest debt because you know the interest rate on your debt, but not your investment return.

Cuban's opinion isn't entirely out of the mainstream, especially for credit card debt. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Investor.gov guidance on saving and investing emphasizes dealing with high-interest debt before taking on investment risk.

However, there's nuance with lower-interest debt. Someone with a 3% mortgage, for example, faces a different decision than someone carrying a 25% credit card balance. With lower-interest debt, delaying investments could mean missing out on retirement account tax benefits or employer matching contributions.

Save primarily for retirement

For Cuban, cash truly is king. He's repeatedly emphasized the importance of having cash available when you need it. In his Blog Maverick post, "How to Get Rich," he was direct: "The first step to getting rich is having cash available. You aren't saving for retirement. You are saving for the moment you need cash."

His thinking is that cash provides flexibility. Having ample cash on hand gives you the ability to handle an unexpected expense, take advantage of an opportunity, or invest when markets are under pressure.

Cuban emphasizes liquidity and financial flexibility over putting every dollar into long-term investments. Mainstream guidance agrees with the liquidity part. Investor.gov recommends maintaining savings for emergencies and short-term goals while treating retirement as a long-term investing goal.

For someone approaching retirement, this is one of Cuban's more useful ideas. A cash reserve helps cover expenses without forcing you to sell investments during a market downturn. The practical alternative to "save only for retirement" is to give your money different jobs: emergency savings for near-term needs, plus investments for longer-term goals.

A degree is worth the price if it advances your career

Conventional wisdom is that a college degree is always worthwhile, even if it comes with a hefty price tag and student loans, because that degree is the pathway to a career. Cuban has criticized that wisdom, arguing against the idea that an expensive degree automatically pays for itself.

Instead, Cuban suggests people go to cheaper schools to save money. In a podcast interview, he advocated for starting your education at a community college to cut costs, especially if you're uncertain about what you want to do after graduation. The way he sees it, the major difference between learning the fundamentals at a community college and an Ivy League school is the price tag.

"Go to community college. Accounting class is accounting class, whether it's at a community college or at Harvard," Cuban said.

Cuban isn't against getting a degree. He wants people to be smart about the debt required to get one. He's not alone in asking people to be strategic: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also recommends considering how much you borrow relative to what you expect to earn after graduation.

Diversify and buy and hold

Cuban has discussed the importance of having an informational advantage when investing, which, in essence, means only investing in businesses and industries you understand. Given his emphasis on only putting your money into what you understand, he has some controversial opinions around the common advice to diversify and buy and hold.

Famously, he told an interviewer for The Wall Street Journal that "diversification, that's for idiots." Why the harsh words? Cuban insisted that regular investors don't have the knowledge or resources that a large hedge fund would have, and they simply lack the time to gain an immersive understanding of so many different investments.

Those statements make provocative headlines. But they aren't a good reason for the average investor, particularly someone approaching retirement, to abandon diversification.

Still, there is a useful idea buried inside Cuban's more contrarian approach: Don't invest blindly. Understand what you own, understand the risks, and don't buy an investment simply because someone else says it's a great opportunity.

Bottom line

Throughout his decades in the public eye, Mark Cuban has become known for strong opinions about how people can make extra money. Some of his most commonsense advice, like living frugally, avoiding credit card debt, and keeping cash available for emergencies, is hard to argue with. Questioning whether an expensive degree will produce enough income to justify its cost is useful, too.

His investing philosophy requires more caution. You don't need an information advantage over Wall Street to build a retirement portfolio. You need an appropriate asset allocation, reasonable costs, diversification, and a strategy suited to your time horizon and ability to tolerate losses.

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